For my post today I just wanted to share an odd assortment of stuff that inspired me, motivated me, made an impact in some way, and was usually stumbled upon at just the right moment. It’s an eclectic assortment, little bit of this, little bit of that, just a chance to indulge in some very […]
Category > Writing
After Finishing the Novel Draft
A happy side effect of my un- and under-employed summer is that I had plenty of time to finally wrap up the 0th draft of my novel. I’ve been steadily working on it since last October (longer, if you count a different version of the book I began in 2010), and as much as I […]
“Read as widely as possible”
A few years ago, I bought a day pass to my first World Con. The highlight of the day was meeting SF writer and long distance life mentor William Shunn at a kaffeeklatsch. Bill is a fellow ex-Mormon and a wonderful human being. His podcast and correspondence helped me ease out of my former religion […]
Writers Need Readers: Lessons from my Book Club
When my mom attends a book signing, book fair or convention with me, people will often ask her if she’s a writer too. She smiles and says, “Oh no. I’m just a reader. But you need us.†It always gets a big laugh and the other person, usually a writer, enthusiastically agrees.  Sometimes I hang […]
Too Much Time on Your Hands? Me Too.
photo (cc) Steve Groisbos A lot of writers dream of quitting their Day Job. Of unshackling themselves from corporate handcuffs of iron or gold and leap joyously into a Full Time Writing Life, where the words flow freely and the book advances are large. I am not that writer. Not really (not yet, at least). […]
Short Fiction: A Roundtable Discussion with Short Story Editors hosted by Michael Knost
Wow, do we have some great stuff for you today! Author, editor, and columnist Michael Knost shares a gem from his new book, The Writers Workshop of Science Fiction & Fantasy, a collection of essays and interviews with some of the biggest names in the field, now available in bookstores and at Amazon. In the […]
Let’s be honest here
I’ve been trying to write the perfect post about revising a novel and failing over and over. One part of my problem stems from the total difficulty of the project. I’ve tried to revise four previous novels and I’m in the middle of revising a fifth, and I still feel like I haven’t nailed the […]
Rainforest Revelations
Several of the Inkpunks recently returned from the amazing Rainforest Writers Village Retreat. This was my third year attending and I cannot say enough good things about it. It takes place at the The Rain Forest Resort Village, situated on Lake Quinault in the Pacific Northwest Pennisula. It’s not only a gorgeous setting which inspires […]
Mastering Multiple Point of View Characters–a guest post
I’m super-excited to share this guest post with you guys–Garrett and I were college buddies who reconnected years later through Twitter and a shared love for spec fiction. He has a brand new novel coming out March 5th called Dreamwielder–check it out! Novels with multiple viewpoint characters are common enough, but for some reason you […]
Craters & Gravy
My brother Jak surprised the heck out of me the other day. We were taking a break from some gaming (Arkham Horror, if you’re interested) and readying some dinner. I was in a hurry, so I pulled out two boxes of instant mashed potatoes. “Do you want fake potatoes and gravy or flavored fake potatoes?” […]
